Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,653, incorporated in 1856.
Cheswold gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $315K for a typical one, or 4.2 years of the Dover metro’s $74K median household income. It grades C overall, 25th of 37 graded towns in Delaware. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 92% of the country. 31% of the land in Cheswold is conserved, where Delaware’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Among 35 Delaware towns, just one has a lower median rent than Cheswold. Cheswold has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them T. H. Denny House and Hoffecker-Lockwood House.
Where Cheswold beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
1,380 counted in 2010 and 1,923 in 2020; an estimated 2,653 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 37.7% since 2020, after 39.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Delaware), ordered by how far Cheswold is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 129 in 1890, 1,923 in 2020. The archive holds 4 maps from 1930 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cheswold, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Cheswold.
Among adults in Cheswold, 17% report frequent physical distress. No town among the 37 in Delaware we compare has a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Cheswold. In Cheswold, 11% of adults binge drink, below both the Delaware town median (15%) and the median of U.S. towns (16%). Also worth knowing: on the CDC’s 32 measures, Cheswold is ahead of Delaware on 1 and behind on 23.
| Cheswold | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 27% | 25% |
| What stands out | Cheswold | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 10.8% | 14.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.6% | 12.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its 385 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 91% of Delaware towns.
Trails run 0.4 miles in 1 park or preserve. For Cheswold, the trail network density is 0.2 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves locally: one, of 3 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. School Lane Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Cheswold had 278 jobs in 2023, up 53 from 2013. Of the 37 Delaware towns we compare, none has a lower share of working residents who work in town than Cheswold. For Cheswold, the average trip to work is 31 minutes. The top destinations are Dover (25%), Smyrna (7%) and Wilmington (5%).
| Cheswold | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.4% | 5.2% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.2% | 8.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $80,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Cheswold’s natural-hazard score from FEMA stands at 29 of 100. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 42% come from inland flooding and 23% from cold waves. Flood insurance has paid one claim locally since 2022.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Expect July afternoons of 87° and January nights of 25°, with about 13 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Cheswold, the rate of reported violence is 2.6 per 1,000 residents. Within Delaware, it does better than 76% of towns.
| Cheswold | Delaware towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.5 per 1,000 residents | 18.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Cheswold
About 9 of every 100 Cheswold residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Delaware.
Where Cheswold’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Town in Delaware, United States
Cheswold is a town in Kent County in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover metropolitan area. The population was 1,923 in 2020.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cheswold grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #25 of 37 in Delaware. It grades D for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Delaware, it does better than 76% of towns.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $315,000, 22% below the Delaware typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
Cheswold was incorporated in 1856 and has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 notable people were born here, including J. Caleb Boogs and Spook Jacobs.
